Apple versus Samsung: everything infringes everything

Babies and bathwater

With Samsung seeking last week to widen its patent claim against Apple to include the iPad Mini, iPad 4 and iPod Touch 5, Cupertino has predictably responded in kind, expanding its own claims.

In this filing, Samsung asked a magistrate to approve its new claims that the three Apple devices infringe the same patent, US 7,672,470, as it was already complaining about in its existing lawsuit against Apple.

Samsung is hoping for a reversal of its earlier fortunes in the US courts, which have seen it hit with a $1.05 billion jury verdict against the South Korean vendor.

While neither vendor appears to hold a patent for the kitchen sink – nor even an application, something of a surprise to The Register – the prolonged and bitter dispute between the two has started to strain their other business relationships.

Samsung recently hiked the price of processors it sells to Cupertino, and according to a Chinese newswire, Yicai.com, the South Korean vendor has stopped selling batteries to Apple. That’s sent Apple off to alternative vendors ATL and Tianjin Lishen Battery, according to this note on Brightwire. ®